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Let’s be honest, when you have kids, new years isn’t quite the party it used to be and a lot of us stay in
As our little guy gets older though, I like the idea of ringing in the New Year together and this doesn’t mean we can’t stay up and have fun with it and make it memorable! If you are brave enough you can always invite all your friends with kids over and have a parent/kid New Years party, unfortunately we have neither the space or the inclination to deal with all that chaos and would rather spend it just the family.
So here are some of the ways to enjoy New Years when you have kids:
Mocktails
Kids always want to have what you have, we’ve all been there. Obviously, you can’t give them alcohol but that doesn’t mean you can’t include them in a fancy drink! Be sure to give it a long, important-sounding name, then garnish and decorate it ridiculously and put it in the fanciest glassware you have then you can all toast the new year together.
Take out you and your kid’s fanciest or most outrageous clothes and get all dressed up. This will make the night feel extra special and fun, not only that it’ll make for excellent pictures! Be as over the top as possible, I’m talking pearls, white gloves, bow ties, tiaras, etc. If you don’t have these things go to a local party store or a thrift shop. Just make sure to go crazy and live it up!
Go to a craft or art supplies store and buy a roll of craft paper in white or any other bright colour. You’ll use this as the backdrop for your DIY photo booth, let the kids paint/draw on it or you can all write out your resolutions, the possibilities are endless! Go through your house and find silly props you can use, if you don’t have any buy some craft supplies to create your own, you can make whatever you’d like and have plenty of memories from your big night!
Build a fort
If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times! build a fort – it’s on my frugal activities for kids list and it is one of our favorite things to do! You are never too old to build a big and elaborate blanket fort. You can make it cozy and have snacks in their and at the end of the night you can all bring in your duvets and pass out in it.
New Years may never be the same again since we’ve got a kid now, but like I said above you won’t have to sacrifice much. You won’t regret including them in the festivities and you can make new traditions as they get older to make things as memorable as possible!
What do you do with your kids on New Years? Let me know in the comments below!
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21 comments on “5 Ways to Spend New Years With the Kids”
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These are all such great ideas! New Years with small kids can be quite the challenge.
These are such great ideas! Maybe my boyfriend and I will do one of these with our seven year old on new years eve.
These are really cool ideas. We’ll be curled up on the couch watching movies eating junk food until we all fall asleep lol
I love the mocktails idea. Not everyone in my family drinks and NYE is also my parents’ wedding anniversary so we always had them growing up and even now!
I think we may do some sparklers and then have a bake off style evening.
What cute ideas! New Years certainly isn’t the same with kids but having them brings an entire new meaning to things 🙂
What a fun post! You really have some great ideas! I love the photo booth and kiddie drinks! gives them something different to celebrate with! Love it!
I always spend the new year with my son (well, ever since he was born). Our tradition is to eat a cheese fondue and drink sparkling cider, then play a board game. This year it would be fun to have some mocktails!
can’t beat cheese fondue! what a lovely tradition!
What lovely ideas. This year I’m going to a firework display in the evening and then to a wine bar later that night. xx
So many great ideas! I don’t have kids but I still want to do some of these ideas lol. I don’t drink so mocktails sound great and I’m a big kid at heart so a fort sounds so fun!
These are great ideas. I love the dress up idea. Thanks for sharing.
We always did a midnight walk around the neighborhood and left welcome messages written in chalk on the sidewalks!
wow how fun! and what a great surprise for the neighbors to wake up to!
Now that my son is three I will say it’s more of a family affair. My husband would go out up until his 1st year. These are great ideas
We totally stay in with the kids each New Year’s Eve but make it special by dressing up and serving a fun dinner and drinks! It’s the best!
Do I have to be a kid, how about a big kid (i.e. Me!) – this sounds awesome, I love all of these ideas! Super cute and fun!
We make it a big dance party now that we have kids at home! They love it!
We always got to join in on the festivities. The adults would play card games all night, and us kids would amuse ourselves with our own board games and such. We would have delicious food laid out, and at midnight we went in the street and banged pots and pans! Also, as we got older we got to have a few sips of some bubbly! Establishing routines where the kids get to join in is what it’s all about!
I bet kids love having a dance party. The Kardashians had a dance party at their Christmas Eve party. lol
This is a great list of ways to spend time at home on NYE with little ones. We do some of these as well. I’m looking forward to our dance party with our family of 6 this year. 🙂